Danny Phantom: Ancient History
by Aaron12
Summary: As Tucker finds himself making some very weighty decisions about his political future, two mistakes from his past come back to haunt him. Hotep-Ra and Tucker's separated ghost half have returned to take their revenge on Team Phantom. But when Hotep-Ra learns of Ghost Tucker, he finds another pawn who can use the mystical Scarab Scepter, leaving Tucker as Amity Park's only hope.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, folks, here we are again. Admittedly, I was planning to have this story written in time for the 10th "Dannyversary", but I completely underestimated how long it took me to write certain parts of this story. But then, I always seem to do that, don't I? It's easier playing stories out in my head than it is to write them. Still, I hope you forgive my tardiness and manage to enjoy the story, regardless. With any luck you'll find it to be on par with my other works.

As for those of you who have just stumbled upon this story and have absolutely NO idea what's going on, perhaps now is as good a time as any to get up to speed. So with that, I offer you a list of the stories in my Danny Phantom series that I've finished so far. Hopefully, you find them to be as enjoyable an experience as this tale. The titles are...

- Facing the Future  
- Strength in Numbers  
- Bad Breakup  
- Trial By Fire  
- Hearts and Minds  
- Pairing Off  
- A Family Thing  
- Stolen Years  
- Laws of Attraction  
- Royal Occupation  
- Junior Hijinks  
-What She Wants

Well, that's all for now. Whether you're a new reader or a familiar fan, I hope you have fun. Enjoy the show...

Danny Phantom: Ancient History  
By Aaron

The sun was shining. A cool breeze was blowing. The sky was a brilliant blue. And every leaf and blade of grass in the park was an emerald green. A more perfect day could not have been asked for as wide banner fluttered in the sky, announcing Amity Park's First Annual Bi-Dietary Barbecue.

"Let's eat!" Tucker announced as he wrapped up his speech, trying to look as official as he could with his mayoral top hat, despite the informal nature of the event.

"Gotta hand it to 'Mayor Foley'," Danny commented from his picnic table, looking around at all the people in attendance that seemed to be enjoying themselves. "Coming up with a barbecue vegetarians can come to so nobody gets excluded was a pretty good idea."

"I guess," Sam muttered sounding not quite as enthusiastic as she sat at a picnic table right beside Danny's on the vegetarian side of the event. "But doesn't this feel like a missed opportunity? I mean he COULD have taken it one step further and shown people that you can have a perfectly good event like this with no meat at all, don't you think?"

"Sam, I know your day is never complete if you're not starting a new crusade." Danny replied, shaking his head. "But you're going to have to accept the fact that you're just not going to win every fight with the carnivores, okay? You got THIS. There. That's today's victory."

"I'm being good," Sam protested. "I'm just saying."

"You were NOT just saying and you KNOW it," Danny argued with a tender voice, leaning to Sam's table and nuzzling her cheek.

Shifting her gaze to Danny's gentle smile, it was impossible for Sam to argue on and ignore the amorous nature of the moment. Nuzzling back against Danny's nose, she leaned in as a soft, lingering kiss passed between them. But before their lips could part, Sam could sense an uncomfortable feeling and opened her eyes to see more than a few people on the vegetarian side, looking aghast at her actually kissing a boy on the meat-eater's side.

"He drank something! He washed his mouth out!" Sam protested before turning back around to see Danny looking somewhat less than impressed with her argument.

"What? You DID," Sam responded with a shrug.

"Hey guys," Tucker chimed in as he sat down beside Danny, shifting the direction of the conversation. "How's it going?"

"Well, well, our fearless leader deigns to sit with his lowly subjects," Danny remarked jokingly.

"I am nothing if not a man of the people," Tucker declared with some mock-smugness.

"Well, I'll say this much, the speech was pretty good," Danny commented. "Sam even liked the 'To-foodies' joke you threw in at the beginning."

Sam was back to eating and had her mouth full when Danny and Tucker turned back to her. She merely responded with a nod and a "thumbs up".

"Well, I wish I could take credit for it," Tucker admitted, hanging his head slightly. "Tanya put that in when she touched up the speech."

"Can I just say this?" Sam piped up, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Whatever you do, DON'T let anything happen to that woman, okay? Because she has been nothing but good for you. I've gotta admit, I didn't think that much of her at first. But now, I honestly don't know what you'd do in that office without her."

"Yeah…me too…," Tucker replied, apparently lost in thought as he looked over to see Tanya on the other side of the event, glad-hading some important looking people before returning his gaze and subtly waving him over.

"Sorry guys, mayor stuff." Tucker stated, standing up with his tray of food. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

With that, Tucker was off, leaving Danny and Sam to themselves, once more. But it was a short-lived moment of privacy when a moment later, both their Ghost Senses simultaneously kicked in.

"Uh-oh," they both uttered, sharing a concerned glance.

Sure enough, a split-second later, the tubby form of the Lunch Lady materialized overhead. While her appearance came as shock to many of those at the event, she seemed to pay them no mind, her focus squarely trained on the banner overhead as she scanned it intently.

"Hmmm…'Bi-Dietary'?" she read allowed before turning her gaze toward the stunned crowd and noticing the vegetarian side of the event. "A barbecue? Without meat?"

No one at the Barbecue could bring themselves to react. Despite the woman's harmless appearance, the fact that she was floating a good 15 feet off the ground was more than enough to stun them with astonishment.

"A BARBECUE WITHOUT MEAT?!" The Lunch Lady suddenly bellowed in rage. "UNACCEPTABLE!"

The Lunch Lady's sudden violent mood swing was more than enough to send every patron at the Barbecue into a panic, darting back and forth in all directions as she roared in anger overhead. Danny and Sam however, could only regard each other with annoyed stares as she slowly sank under their picnic tables.

"You know, the sad thing is that we should be doing this for something A LOT more fun," Sam remarked dryly before two familiar white flashes burst out from under the picnic tables. A second later, a transformed Danny and Sam were phasing through the tables and bursting into the sky.

The Lunch Lady meanwhile, continued her frenzy as frightened townspeople darted left and right. Conjuring up a massive turkey drumstick, she prepared to hurl it with all her fury at the crowd below.

"Meat at a barbecue is a sacred covenant!" she thundered, "If you choose to defy that…THEN DINE ON A BUFFET OF PAIN!"

No sooner did the words erupt from her lips then the Lunch Lady let fly with her massive weapon. But her attack was quickly cut short as Danny popped up in mid-air, unleashing a pair of Freezing Ghost Rays, which not only stopped the drumstick in its tracks, but also encased it in a block of ice. But that wasn't the end of it as Sam came in from the side, wrapping the drumstick's bone with a pair of Ghost Ray Strands. And with a powerful heave, Sam sent the drumstick flying back, smashing into the Lunch Lady full-force and knocking her out of the sky, hurtling into the stage that was set up for Tucker's earlier speech.

"Sounds good to me! But only if YOU'RE offering a taste test!" Sam shouted back defiantly.

The attendees quickly changed from screams of terror to cheers of excitement, relieved at their defenders coming to the rescue. But their fears quickly resurfaced as the Lunch Lady exploded out of the stage with a roar and burst into the sky to continue the fight. But as the battle lines were drawn once more, it was Sam that the Lunch Lady chose to focus her attention on.

"You again!" she shouted in rage, recognizing Sam's insolent "anti-meat" face even in her ghost form. "Have you no respect for ANYTHING?!"

Her fury growing even stronger, the Lunch Lady howled into the sky as all the meat in the Barbecue rose into the sky, surrounding her like a swirling geyser before shaping into one of her enormous meat bodies. Danny and Sam planned to ready themselves for anything. But at that moment, a giant third hand burst from the Lunch Lady's chest, gripping Sam with crushing force.

"Sam!" Danny shouted as the Lunch Lady's third hand slowly began pulling Sam towards her.

"It's time someone taught you some manners, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" the Lunch Lady bellowed.

"Oh, that's-what-YOU-think! Stay back Danny! I'VE got this!" Sam declared, her eyes glowing a bright orange. "Oh, but this is gonna be SO gross…"

The people below could only watch, helplessly, as a struggling Sam was slowly dragged into the Lunch Lady's meat body and completely enveloped as the Lunch Lady cackled in triumph. But her victorious mood was quickly cut short as her body curiously began to steam, bubble and smolder. And before the Lunch Lady could figure out what was happening, her entire meat body was blown apart as Sam shouted into the sky, her body erupting in a geyser of her Ghostly Flame. In the end, all that was left was cooked cuts of meat raining down on the event while a stunned and extremely singed Lunch Lady remained hovering in mid-air.

"Maybe just a little too much sear, Sweetie…" the Lunch Lady groaned, her eyes rolling in a daze.

"Cut her some slack! It's her first time!" Danny called, pulling out the Fenton Thermos.

The crowd resumed cheering once more as the Lunch Lady was promptly sucked into the Thermos and contained before she had a chance to recover. But some of the Barbecue patrons were also cheering to have their food back as cooked meat began flopping on plates across every table while Tucker hopped on stage and grabbed the microphone to try and salvage what was left of the event.

"Well folks, look at it this way…No waiting!" Tucker announced with a shrug, remarking on all the instantly cooked food and drawing more than a few chuckles from the crowd.

"Nice going Sam," Danny responded. "I think you may have helped pull this thing out."

"Greeeeeaaaat…," Sam muttered, not quite as pleased with side effects of her work as a medium rare steak plopped onto her head.

The people on the vegetarian side of the even didn't seem quite as thrilled either, to be having chunks of charred animal flesh dropping all over their tables. But at the same time, they had to admit, this was hardly something Tucker could be blamed for as he began to lead the applause, praising Danny and Sam for their efforts.

"Eh. He's still better than that Vlad guy," one of the vegetarians commented with a shrug.

* * *

"Disruptions aside, response to yesterday's event was actually very positive," Tanya reported, walking behind Tucker as he made his way to his office. "Public support continues to be on the rise. In fact, some polls have indicated that if an election were held tomorrow, you'd win by about 57 percent of the vote. Given that that doesn't include Undecideds, that's pretty good."

"You like seeing those numbers, don't you?" Tucker noted.

"I would think this is something YOU'D like to see," Tanya replied. "Look, at the risk of overstepping my bounds here, I know that the City Council passed a legislation which let you get appointed to this job. But you DO realize that if you actually want to KEEP this job, you are eventually going to have to get ELECTED, right?"

Tucker didn't respond at first. But when Tanya looked over, she caught a worried expression on his face and felt she had to change the subject.

"Look, in other news, you have to be at the City Council meeting at 11:30. Don't forget, there are going to be Casper High students there on a field trip," she added. "The dry cleaners promised that your good tuxedo jacket and top hat would be delivered by 10:00 so you can wear it for the event."

"Works for me," Tucker replied as he made his way to his office, only to stop short after opening the door. "Listen, Tanya…?"

"Yes?" Tanya inquired as she picked up some papers from her desk and prepared to leave, only to turn and see Tucker standing frozen in place, as if he couldn't get the words he wanted to say to come out.

"Nothing…it can wait," Tucker answered, shaking his head as he walked into his dimly lit office. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure…," Tanya responded, raising a curious eyebrow before finally turning to leave.

With that, Tucker closed the door behind him and took a seat at his desk. Swiveling the chair around to gaze out the window, he couldn't help but think back to what Tanya had said. Deep down, he knew she was right about him needing to get re-elected if he wanted to stay in the Mayor's Office. But as much as he knew he wanted to stay, just how much confidence did he really have in his chances of actually making that happen? On the other hand, he knew he was going to have to make a decision on the matter sooner than later. Starting to feel backed into a corner, a worried sigh finally crossed Tucker's lips.

"Well, well, heavy lies the head that wears the crown," a bold voice sounded as Tucker whirled around to see an all-too familiar bandaged figure looking over him menacingly. "Isn't that right…'my liege'?"

"Hotep-Ra?!" Tucker blurted out in shock as the mummy ghost's wrappings lashed out towards him.

* * *

"Eeeeuuuuccchhh…oh, this is just PERFECT! Thanks to that idiot Lunch Lady, I've taken five showers now and I STILL smell like charred meat and barbecue sauce!" Sam complained as walked down the street, taking a sniff of her arm and shuddering in disgust. But her annoyance was quickly redirected at the staggered, but clear sounds of snickering she heard just behind her.

"Danny…are you laughing at me?" she asked sternly over her shoulder, causing Danny to immediately roll his eyes innocently.

"Noooooooooo…Ye-he-he-he-he-he-hes!" Danny broke down in laughter almost immediately before having to run after Sam, who scowled and stomped away. "Oh, come on! If it was Tucker that we saw getting dumped into a vat of raspberry vinaigrette, we'd have to SEDATE you to keep your sides from splitting and you know it!"

Sam still wasn't sharing Danny's humor as she crossed her arms, refusing to turn around and look at him. But as Danny came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, she found her attention being quickly drawn.

"Hey," Danny murmured softly, propping his head up on her shoulder, "You…KNOW it."

"Oh…alright," Sam consented with a bashful shrug, turning around in Danny's embrace to gently drape her arms around his neck. What happened next as purely academic as a series of soft, fluttery kisses gently passed between them.

"Mmmm," Danny noted, pulling away and smacking his lips. "Hickory smoked."

"Oh…!" Sam couldn't even form words as she shoved Danny away and stormed off again, leaving Danny laughing uncontrollably in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Sam, come on…I'm sor…I'm sor-rhee-hee-hee-hee-hee…!" Danny tried to call after her, unable to suppress his giggling.

But there was nothing for it now. Danny knew there was no possible way he could get Sam to come back. He'd find a way to make it up to her tomorrow, once she'd calmed down. For the moment, he decided he might as well stop by City Hall and see if Tucker wouldn't mind some company on the way home.

Once Danny found himself closing in on City Hall however, he was soon in for a surprise as his Ghost Sense suddenly kicked in. Instinctively, his gaze darted around the street as he stood firm, readying himself for whatever enemy had suddenly decided to come after him this time. But a muffled yelp of panic from inside the building, followed by a loud crash made it frighteningly clear that at that moment, Danny wasn't the target.

"Tucker!" Danny cried out in panic, bolting towards the building at top speed.

* * *

Back in his office, Tucker found himself lifted off the ground, his body bound tightly in the wrappings that made up Hotep-Ra's arms. Unable to move, he could only wince in disgust as the ancient, dusty bandages slowly snaked up towards his face.

"Did you truly think you'd seen the last of ME?!" Hotep-Ra declared angrily. "For months, I've agonized over the perfect way to get revenge for your betrayal. But then I came to realize, sometimes the old ways are still the best ways."

"Excuse me?! MY betrayal?!" Tucker protested. "Last time I checked my memory, YOU were setting ME up from Minute One! So who betrayed WHO, pal?!"

Unfortunately, for Tucker, logic was not going to win him the day. Snarling angrily, Hotep-Ra whirled around and heaved him across the room, slamming him into the wall. Luckily, Tucker was spared from the brunt of the impact by Hotep-Ra's wrappings, but he still found himself tightly bound and pinned to the wall.

"I had a kingdom in the palm of my hands! Do you know how many centuries I've waited?!" Hotep-Ra shouted back. "Because of YOU, it was all taken away from me in a matter of SECONDS!"

"Then maybe next time you'll do your OWN dirty work instead of relying on ME to do it FOR you!" Tucker argued sarcastically. "Oh wait! That's right! You COULDN'T! You needed ME to make that dumb scepter work!"

His eyes glowing in rage, Hotep-Ra bellowed in fury as he prepared to silence Tucker's insolent tongue once and for all. But his plans were quickly upended as Danny phased through the side wall of Tucker's office. Firing a pair of Freezing Ghost Rays as he flew in, Danny encased Hotep-Ra's arms in ice before he had any time to react. And as he barreled on through, Danny shattered Hotep-Ra's frozen limbs with a single punch as he passed, causing Tucker to drop to the ground.

"Tucker, you okay?!" Danny called over after screeching to a halt.

"Don't worry about me!" Tucker answered, even as he winced slightly at the pain in his backside, "Deal with HIM!"

"Guess that body of yours can't handle the cold much, huh?!" Danny noted, charging his fists with Freezing Ecto-  
Energy as he stared Hotep-Ra down. "Let's see what happens when I apply the same principle to your FACE!"

But Hotep-Ra wasn't about to let himself be defeated so easily. Roaring in anger, his entire body spiraled into a vortex of dust, blowing past Tucker and sifting underneath his office door to escape.

"Come on! We can't lose him!" Danny shouted, hauling Tucker up onto his feet and running alongside him out the door.

* * *

Down in the lab at Fenton Works, all was dark and quiet, save for the eerie glow emitting from the Vortex of the Fenton Portal, which someone had foolishly left open…most likely Jack. But the creepiness was about to intensify as a green mist emerged from a portal, complete with a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes. Floating in the room for only a moment, the mist then wafted up through a nearby air vent.

Eventually, the strange mist was deposited through the ventilation system into the dark alley outside the building before suddenly growing into a monstrous, hulking shape, looking out with the same evil red eyes. But things took an even stranger turn as the giant form disappeared and it was Tucker Foley, himself, who emerged from the darkness of the alley. Looking around with a pair of innocent blinks, he immediately saw a familiar face as Sam came walking up the block.

Sam, however, wasn't paying much attention. Her head low as she trudged along, everything else might as well have been a million miles away. But that mindset quickly changed as her Ghost Sense kicked in, putting her on high alert. It was at that moment that she looked around and realized that she had unwittingly walked all the way to Danny's house, despite how annoyed she was at him.

"Sam!" a familiar voice called as she looked to see Tucker trotting up the street towards her.

"Tucker?" Sam exclaimed feeling just more than a little confused. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go back to the office?"

"Sssssssuuure…let's go with that," Tucker responded, his eyes curiously darting back and forth before shrugging his shoulders. "I…just needed to stretch my legs?"

"All the way out here?" Sam replied before offering a shrug of her own. "Well…whatever. Want someone to walk you back?"

"O…kay…," Tucker answered, again, leaving Sam wondering why he seemed so perplexed as he walked alongside her. "So…seen Danny today?"

"Aw, he was being a jerk, so I walked off on him a few minutes ago," Sam answered, a touch of bitterness lingering in her voice. "He'll be sucking up to me tomorrow, though."

"Hey Danny's a jerk more often than you think," Tucker added. "You ever stop to think that maybe we could BOTH do better?"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Sam shot back, starting to grow concerned with Tucker's increasingly odd behavior.

"Sam!" Danny's voice suddenly called out.

"Danny?" Sam whirled around in Danny's direction, only to gasp in shock at seeing Tucker running up behind him.

"Sorry, but we're going to have to make up a little quicker than usual this time. We just got a MAJOR Red Alert and…WHAT-am-I-looking-at?" Danny blurted out in the middle of his explanation, after noticing as well that there were now two Tuckers on the scene.

"Whoa…," the Tucker beside Danny uttered in surprise as the Tucker beside Sam simply regarded Danny with an angry scowl.

"Okay, did I miss something here?" Sam asked, leaping to the side and changing into her ghost form, much to the second Tucker's surprise. "Someone had better start talking to me."

"Wait a minute…you have ghost powers now, too?" the second Tucker responded before his eyes suddenly flashed red with anger. "YOU HAVE GHOST POWERS NOW, TOO?!"

Before Sam even had time to ask, the second Tucker's body suddenly turned green and grew to a massive muscular size. His ears became pointed and his teeth turned into rows of misshapen fangs. Claws sprang from his hands and his legs became replaced with a ghostly tail. And with a deafening roar, where a second Tucker had once stood now floated the ghostly half of Tucker that had once been conjured up by Desiree to make Tucker an unstoppable half-ghost. The same Ghost Tucker that Danny had separated from Tucker with the Fenton Ghost Catcher.

"And now this has officially gotten much worse," Danny remarked dryly while his face showed genuine dread.

"I should have known!" Ghost Tucker bellowed. "I jump on the bandwagon and I get kicked to the curb! But when SHE does it, she just gets HANDED a spot on the team, no questions asked!"

"First of all, there was nothing, 'no questions asked' about it!" Danny argued. "And second, since when did YOU care about a spot on the TEAM?! All YOU cared about was taking everything for YOURSELF!"

"Okay guys, seriously...did I MISS something here?!" Sam exclaimed.

Ghost Tucker merely responded with a growl of rage, firing a pair of Ghost Rays in Danny's direction. Fortunately, Danny was able to dodge the attack, pulling Tucker along with him to safety.

But with Ghost Tucker's attention so fixed on Danny, he'd completely ignored Sam. And Sam wasn't about to let such an oversight go unpunished as she lashed a Ghost Ray Strand around his tail, pulling him out of the air and slamming him hard into the sidewalk. But as he whirled around to Sam with a snarl, Ghost Tucker's attention was firmly placed on her, rocketing towards her at top speed. Instinctively, Sam threw out her Ghost Ray energy to protect herself, taking the form of a riot shield, just as Ghost Tucker's massive fist slammed into it with all his might, looking to punch right on through. But as he looked at where he struck, he found himself shocked to realize that Sam's Ghost Ray Shield was still holding. In fact, there wasn't even a crack in it.

"Seriously? That's all you've got?" Sam asked, looking almost as surprised as Ghost Tucker, himself.

Growling in response, Ghost Tucker prepared to lash out again. But Sam was quicker on the draw, forming an anvil of Ghost Ray energy around her fist and smashing Ghost Tucker squarely in the face, sending him flying back. And Tucker's flight path sent him directly into the path of Danny, who dropped out of the air, bashing Ghost Tucker right between the eyes with a giant, fist-shaped block of ice around his hand and driving him hard into the sidewalk.

Not giving Ghost Tucker a chance to recover, Sam was on the attack again, lashing another Ghost Ray Strand around his tail and heaving him up and over in a high arc to slam him into the ground once again. From there, she tuned on her foot and began twirling Ghost Tucker around and around at top speed like a hammer throw. Battered, dazed and disoriented, Tucker was only seconds from total defeat. Using what little clarity he had left, he fired a Ghost Ray of his own which broke Sam's Ghost Ray strand, sending him flying into the air and out of sight.

"Okay, first, I want it stipulated for the record, that was NOT supposed to happen," Sam quickly corrected. "And second, what even WAS that thing?!"

"You were laid up, you were sick. You weren't there," Danny explained. "But we told you all about that, remember? When Tucker blurted out a wish for ghost powers and Desiree gave them to him? Remember, I needed the Fenton Ghost Catcher to change him back? That…was…what came out of him."

"Oh, this CANNOT be happening," Tucker shuddered, pacing back and forth in at a frenzied pace, "First, Hotep-Ra shows up and now THIS?"

"Wow, two of your past screw-ups in one day," Sam remarked, sounding slightly surprised, herself. "You want to talk about your chickens coming home to roost."

"I'd rather not," Tucker responded unhappily, running off in the direction Ghost Tucker had flown. "Come on! We've got to find them! Now!"

Danny and Sam ultimately had to concede Tucker's point. While Tucker's motives for finding the two wayward ghosts were primarily self-serving, there was no denying that they couldn't just leave them floating around the city to stir up trouble. Looking at each other with a shrug, they followed Tucker down the street to take up the chase.

Little did they know that one member of their quarry was closer than they expected. Emerging from the darkness of a nearby alley, Hotep-Ra quickly made himself visible. Admittedly, his initial strategy, after his escape from City Hall, was to follow Danny and Tucker and simply wait in ambush. But recent events and explanations suddenly had him considering some serious alterations to his strategy.

"Hmmm…I wonder…" he thought to himself, a thoughtful, yet wicked, grin crossing his face.

* * *

"Unhh…what happened back there?" Ghost Tucker thought out loud as he found himself floating through a nearby park, still in a daze. "I don't care if there WAS two of them. They shouldn't have had enough power to take ME on."

Just then, he happened to notice Tucker run up over a nearby hill with Danny and Sam flying close behind. His eyes glowing fiercely, a growled passed across his lips as his fists began to blaze with ecto-energy.

"Okay, time for Round Two. And THIS time, things are gonna be…UUAAH!" Ghost Tucker's declaration was cut off with a loud yelp as something wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the darkness under a nearby bridge as Team Phantom passed by.

"Alright, who wants a piece of me?!" Ghost Tucker shouted angrily as he whirled around, only to be caught by surprise as Hotep-Ra appeared before him, dropping to one knee and bowing in worship.

"Merely your humble servant, who hears and obeys, oh Great One," Hotep-Ra declared. "Your dynasty begins anew…my Pharaoh!"

"I'm a Pharaoh?" Ghost Tucker responded in surprise. "I have a minion?"

"And if you will allow this unworthy follower of your majesty, a simple suggestion," Hotep-Ra continued, "I believe I have a solution which will allow you to acquire all that you desire and more…including your most deserved vengeance."

"Hold on, let me get this straight. I'M a PHARAOH?" Ghost Tucker repeated, an excited smile crossing his face. "I have a MINION? Who will hear and obey?!"

It was at that moment that a sinister smirk crossed Hotep-Ra's face. Right then and there, he knew he had Ghost Tucker wrapped around his finger, just like the original Tucker had been just a few short months ago. And if Hotep-Ra's suspicions were correct, all they'd need was one more item and he may still get what HE had long desired…including his vengeance.

* * *

The next day, Danny and Sam found themselves walking hand-in-hand through City Hall along with their class on their field trip. They'd stayed out as long as they could, searching for Hotep-Ra and Tucker's ghost half, but eventually, they had to respect their curfews and return home for the night. They could only hope that once school was out that day and they had more time to look, things would go better.

"There's one thing I don't get," Sam remarked silently as she and Danny stayed as far as they could out of earshot, behind their classmates. "I thought you said that when Tucker got those ghost powers, that he turned into some kind of über-powerful, unstoppable…thing. So how were we able to take him so easily?"

"Desiree said that her spell was supposed to transform him 'into the most powerful ghost boy in the world'. I'm guessing that means like us. Maybe when I separated his ghost half and broke the spell, it…de-powered him somehow," Danny replied thoughtfully. "Still, that doesn't mean we can write him off. He may not be as tough anymore, but he still knows pretty much everything about us. And the fact that he's able to make himself look human now proves that he's already learned a few new tricks. Plus, let's not forget that Hotep-Ra is still out there, too and that guy's DEFINITELY no pushover."

"Maybe it's a good thing we've got this field trip happening, then," Sam noted. "At least it gives us a chance to keep an eye on Tucker for an extra little while, make sure no trouble finds him. How's he doing?"

"How would you feel if all the skeletons in YOUR closet suddenly decided to jump out all at once?" Danny responded.

* * *

True to Danny's reply, Tucker found himself just outside the City Council Chamber, shaking like a leaf. Despite having to call off the search and return home, he found himself completely unable to sleep. But despite being utterly exhausted, his adrenaline was pumping too furiously to allow his body to slow down. His every muscle was a coiled spring ready to jump at the slightest unexpected shock…such as when Tanya came up behind him to touch him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me Mayor Foley, are you…?"

"AAAAHH!" Tucker yelped jumping off the ground as Tanya instantly sprang back in surprise.

"Are…you okay?" Tanya asked with concern.

"I'm…I'm fine…," Tucker panted, desperately struggling to catch his breath and slow down his heart.

"Really? Because you don't LOOK fine," Tanya replied. "Seriously, is something wrong?"

Tucker wasn't sure what kind of an answer he could give at that moment. All he seemed able to do was hang his head slightly with a heavy sigh.

"Nothing YOU can help me with," he replied somberly. "Come on. We've got a meeting to get to."

"Alright class, I want you all to remember where we are today," Mr. Lancer announced silently while most of the class appeared bored or distracted. "This is a profound statement about local democracy and I want to make sure all of you are paying attention."

With that, the members of the City Council began slowly filing into the Chamber, followed by Tucker, himself, several moments later. His appearance drew a brief applause from Danny and Sam, much to Lancer's disapproval and the rest of the class's indifference. But their show of support did little to move Tucker, who seemed so distant he might as well have been on the other side of the world. In the end, all Danny and Sam could hope for was that nothing would take place to disrupt the day and hopefully provide Tucker with some welcome relief.

"Welcome everyone. I'll now call the meeting to order," Tucker announced uneasily. "We've got a lot we need to get through today, no if there are no objections, I move that we wave the reading of the minutes from the last meeting…"

Just then, a pair of Ghost Rays exploded from the Chamber ceiling, causing dust and rubble to rain down onto the panicked crowd. When the haze began to settle, everyone in the room could only look up in shock to see Hotep-Ra floating overhead, alongside Ghost Tucker, who had once again taken human form.

"Oh, there is NO way my luck is this bad…," Tucker groaned under his breath.

"I second the motion!" Ghost Tucker declared menacingly.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I REALLY hate being right sometimes?" Sam uttered worriedly.

"Double Indemnity!" Lancer blurted out in shock, "TWO of them?!"

"Lowly subjects of this humble suburban metropolis," Hotep-Ra proclaimed, "A true leader arrives to overthrow your pale imitation of one! As of this moment, you shall all declare your unwavering loyalty to your great Pharaoh!"

At that moment, Hotep-Ra reached into his wrappings, pulling out a familiar gold staff. And while everyone else could only look on in confursion and dread, Danny, Sam and Tucker instantly recognized the Scarab Scepter of Pharaoh Duulaman. Hotep-Ra must have stolen it from the museum.

"You should know better than to leave an object THIS powerful simply laying around where just ANYONE can get their hands on it," Hotep-Ra boasted.

"Danny…is that what I think it is?" Sam responded nervously.

"Oh no…," Danny uttered, recognizing the danger of the situation all-too well as he and Sam ducked under the seats of the Chamber and quickly transformed. Last time, the scepter gave Tucker nearly limitless power, but also possessed him in the process. This time, however, with a GHOST Tucker running around…

"For you, my Pharaoh!" Hotep-Ra announced, tossing the Scarab Scepter in Ghost Tucker's direction. "Usher in the start of your glorious reign!"

"That's what YOU think, pal!" Danny shouted as he and Sam burst from the aisles to attack.

"Correction! That's what I KNOW!" Ghost Tucker declared as he snatched the Scepter from the air.

With a wave of his arm, Ghost Tucker unleashed a wave of energy from the Scarab Scepter which sent Danny and Sam flying back to slam into the far wall of the Chamber. When the light finally faded, he was then floating over the crowd in his monstrous ghost form. Only now, he was wearing a traditional Egyptian headpiece, just as Tucker had worn when he wielded the Scepter once before.

With that, Ghost Tucker raised the Scarab Scepter above his head, creating a blinding streak of light up and into the sky. The ray quickly spread into a luminous dome with spread across the entire area of Amity Park, much to the shock of everyone in town. Not to mention the mysterious ghost, "G", who was just reaching the city limits on his motorcycle, only to gasp in surprise and screech to a halt as the dome came down, just narrowly avoiding slamming right into it.

"What is THAT?!" he blurted out in surprise.

Inside the dome, citizens everywhere around Amity Park were asking the exact same question, although their concern was considerably more immediate. Not only were they trapped inside with no way to escape, but everything inside the dome had been transformed into an Egyptian desert kingdom. Nothing but Sun and sand existed as far as the eye could see, but for the occasional pyramid and a large sphinx. Everyone's clothes had been changed into simple peasant garb. That included Tucker, who found himself at the top of an Egyptian palace, staring across from his ghostly doppelganger and Hotep-Ra. And Danny and Sam, the only two who seemed to have even the slightest chance of putting a stop to this madness, they were both shackled by their wrists and ankles to a pair of metal wheels, floating right behind the two villains. And as Ghost Tucker and Hotep-Ra stood atop an Egyptian palace with their "trophies", sneering down in triumph, Tucker could only look up helplessly, along with everyone else.

"From now on, it's a brave new world!" Ghost Tucker continued as a fanged smile crossed his face. "MINE!"

* * *

Back outside the city, a rapid-fire barrage of electrical blasts burst from an old-west six shooter, hammering away at the light barrier. But it seemed that no matter how many shots were fired or how intense, nothing seemed capable of breaching the dome. Dropping his gun arm, which was coated in an odd crystalline substance, a pair of green rings encircled the attacker's body, which ultimately revealed G, who could only let out a heavy sigh.

"No sense wasting the energy. If THAT'S not going to be enough to punch through that thing, then NOTHING will," he thought out loud. "Sorry Danny, I tried my best. But it looks like you're on your own."

* * *

Back inside the dome, Ghost Tucker and Hotep-Ra continued to enjoy the spoils of their conquest. With Danny and Sam bound and everyone else powerless to intervene, the panicked cries of the people below sounded quite satisfying indeed.

"Ah, nothing like having your own kingdom. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving soul, in my opinion," Ghost Tucker boasted, feeling quite pleased with himself. "Now…what should my FIRST royal proclamation be?"

"If you'll forgive yet another suggestion from your most humble servant," Hotep-Ra chimed in, turning towards Tucker with a wicked grin. "A king would do well to not have any possible usurpers challenging his claim to the throne."

"Tucker, run! You've got to get out of here!" Danny shouted, instantly picking up on where Hotep-Ra's train of thought was headed.

Tucker, however, could only stay rooted to the spot, completely paralyzed. Caught between his fear of the situation and his guilt at abandoning his friends, he seemed completely at a loss for what he should do. Unfortunately, all that hesitation was doing was providing his enemies all the more time to do something to HIM.

"Tucker, you can't help us if anything happens to YOU!" Sam yelled, snapping Tucker out of his indecision. "Just go!"

As much as Tucker didn't want to admit, Sam was absolutely right. Making a decision, Tucker followed his instincts and bounded down the steps of the palace.

"Guards! Seize him!" Hotep-Ra commanded, sending a patrol of jackal-headed guards in pursuit.

"Oh relax! I'VE got this!" Ghost Tucker interrupted, preparing to take up the chase himself.

Fortunately for Tucker, Danny wasn't as helpless and he'd originally led everyone to believe. Activating his freezing powers, he turned the shackle on one of his wrists brittle enough to shatter with a hard pull. And with one arm free, he fired a full-power Ghost Ray, which sent Ghost Tucker and Hotep-Ra flying back, buying Tucker the time he needed to escape. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to help them escape, as Ghost Tucker recovered almost instantly. Growling in frustration at having lost his quarry, Ghost Tucker waved the Scarab Scepter and Danny's wrist was chained once again.

Tucker, meanwhile, had reached the bottom of the palace and was quickly escaping into the bewildered crowd. Quickly blending in, he soon became virtually indistinguishable to the pursuing guards.

"Can't you find him?!" Ghost Tucker bellowed from the top of the palace.

"Forgiveness, my liege," one of the guards called back up. "But…they all look alike to us."

"Then arrest them ALL! He HAS to be down there SOMEWHERE!" Hotep-Ra snarled angrily, only to return to a more submissive state upon catching a dirty look from Ghost Tucker, "With your permission, of course, oh Great One."

At that moment, Tucker's camouflage bought him no comfort as the guards immediately began apprehending everyone in sight, in an attempt to thin out the herd and track him down. But there was nothing he could do for any of them. Fleeing onward, he ducked around buildings and into alleyways. Only when he felt absolutely certain that no one was following him did he finally stop to catch his breath.

Unfortunately, he still had a big problem on his hands. There was still a city swarming with guards, all after his head, at Hotep-Ra and Ghost Tucker's command. But even if there wasn't, so what? When it came right down to it, Tucker was still alone, facing both ghosts with no weapons and no backup…not that any amount of either could POSSIBLY stand up to the power of the Scarab Scepter.

"What do I do now?" Tucker sighed, feeling completely helpless.

Then, suddenly, an idea popped into his head. What if he could catch Ghost Tucker by surprise and get the Scarab Scepter AWAY from him? That would make the odds at least a LITTLE more even, wouldn't it? Tucker had a fairly confident idea on how this could be achieved. After all, it had the virtue of having worked before. But there was no possible way he could do it alone. Not only because it would require more people for the plan to work, but also because Tucker didn't trust himself to try and take the Scarab Scepter personally, still remembering what it did to him the last time. Clearly, he was going to need some allies, but where was he going to find them?

Just then, he caught the sounds of movement from around the corner. Peering out from his hiding place, he caught the sight of a group of people being marched to the jails by a contingent of guards. Tucker instantly recognized classmates like Dash, Kwan and Star, along with a few parents, a couple of City Council members and Tanya among the group's number. These might be people that could help him. At this point, ANYTHING would be a benefit. Of course, it still didn't change the fact that he was all alone, with no one to count on rescuing them but himself. But what choice did he have? He had to try SOMETHING. Pausing to take a deep breath, Tucker took a moment to try and get his confidence up.

"Alright…time to man up, dude. It's cool, you can do this. You're a WARRIOR. Just get out there and…AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Tucker's efforts to pump himself up were interrupted by a gentle tap on the shoulder, causing him to leap into the air with a piercing shriek. Whirling around in mid-scream, he flailed his arms wildly, trying to slap away whoever had just snuck up behind him. But he was in for an even bigger surprise as he finally snapped out of his fit, opening his eyes to see a familiar round face staring back at him, complete with a white ponytail and a simple wave from her hand.

"Hi."

"Danielle!" Tucker exclaimed. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Seriously? You can ASK me that question?" Danielle answered sarcastically as she held out her arms to demonstrate the entire transformed city. "I was just eating in the Lunch Room at school, totally minding my own business, when my sandwich…my delicious peanut butter and blueberry jam SAND-wich…turned into…wait for it…SAND! All I know is that SOMEONE around here owes me an explanation…not to mention, LUNCH. So what's going on here? Where are Danny and Sam?"

"Danny and Sam…aren't available," Tucker replied uneasily. "They got captured by the ghosts who were responsible for all this?"

"What?! Well, why didn't you SAY so?!" Danielle shouted, instantly flying off. "I've got to…!"

"Danielle, wait!" Tucker cut her off, grabbing her arm to pull her back down to earth. "Listen to me! You don't know what you're up against. You wouldn't last five seconds or get within a hundred yards with the power they've got right now. The only way we're going to even have a chance to win this is to take that power AWAY from them."

"And just how are we supposed to do THAT?" Danielle argued.

"Actually, I've got an idea that might work, but we're gonna need some backup first," Tucker answered, taking a moment to peer outside the alley once more. "So what do you say? Feel up to helping me organize a little prison break?"

"Whatever you say…'Warrior'. Nice battle cry by the way," Danielle joked, mimicking Tucker's expression from when she'd approached him just a few moments ago, "Goes right up there with 'Please don't hurt me!' and 'Not in the face! Not in the face'!"

"Oh, you're hilarious," Tucker grumbled while Danielle could only giggle behind him in response.

* * *

Not far away, the group Tucker had spotted being captured by the guards was just being locked up in their large cell. Two guards were being left behind to keep watch over the prisoners while the rest made off to resume their search for Tucker. The people inside the cell, however, were still too distressed to fully understand what was going on. But what they DID know is that they hoped this nightmare would soon come to an end.

Just then, a black and white blur streaked past the cell doors, tackling both guards and sending them flying out of view. None of the prisoners could make out what was happening, but they could definitely hear sounds of fighting, accompanied by an occasional green flash. After a few moments, everything went silent, only to have the group receive another surprise as Tucker burst in front of the cell door.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked.

"Foley?! What are YOU doing here?" Dash exclaimed.

"Getting you guys out, what does it LOOK like?" Tucker replied as Danielle tossed him the keys from the dazed guards. "I'm also running a small recruitment drive. I think I can put a stop to this, but I'm gonna need a couple of volunteers."

"Hah! Are you kidding? You ran off and abandoned us the first chance you got! Why would ANYONE here volunteer to be led by YOU?" Star objected, drawing more than a few unhappy glances in Tucker's direction.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because I was able to avoid getting locked up in here and YOU weren't?" Tucker responded sarcastically as he opened the door, creating a group of low foreheads, nodding and grudgingly muttering in agreement. "Now, like I said, I've got an idea on how we can get out of this, but I can't do it alone. I'm going to need at least a couple of you to help me out. Can I count on you guys?"

"Now wait a second," Kwan chimed in. "What exactly are you going to need us to do?"

"You? Nothing. Anyone who comes along is just going to be a distraction, for show," Tucker answered as he waved over outside and Danielle stepped into the doorway. "SHE'S going to be doing the heavy lifting."

"Who is THAT?!" Star blurted out, merely voicing what everyone else was thinking.

"Until we get Danny Phantom and Sam Tasma back in this fight, she's the only big gun we've got," Tucker replied as Danielle simply stood confidently with her arms crossed. "Trust me…she can do what we need her to do. OUR job is going to be just getting her close enough to DO it."

"This pipsqueak? Are you kidding? What is SHE going to do? Run up and bite them on the…Hey!" Dash's argument was cut off as Danielle grabbed his ankle with one hand, floating up and lifting him upside down off the ground. "Put me down!"

"Anyone else care to leave a comment?" Danielle announced sternly while Dash merely dangled helplessly from her grip, wailing in protest.

No one else had any objections after that, all shaking their heads or holding up their hands in submission. A few moments later, most of the prisoners made their escape out of the cell, each of them cautiously looking around for any sign that someone might be following them.

"Okay, just stick to dark alleys and in between buildings and stay out of sight. You'll be fine," Tucker instructed before turning his attention to Dash, Kwan and a few members of the Casper High football team, who all stayed behind. "Okay now here's how we're going to do this. First, we have to…"

It was at that moment, that Tucker looked up to see Tanya had stayed behind, remaining in the cell, keeping a fair distance from everyone. And it wasn't hard to see why. All Tucker had to do was look into Tanya's eyes and the dread on her face more than told the story.

"Guys, give me a second, okay? Danielle, keep an eye on the door, make sure no one's coming by," Tucker requested as he walked up to Tanya, who seemed to be growing more rattled with each step he took. "Tanya…?"

Instinctively, Tucker reached out to offer a hand of comfort. But almost instantly, Tanya pulled herself away.

"Tanya, are you okay?" Tucker asked quietly.

"How…can you…ask me that?" Tanya responded, keeping her own voice down to avoid making a scene. "How many months have I been working for you? I TRUSTED you. And now, suddenly, this entire town that YOU are in charge of is in the middle of this because of YOU? WHAT…is going on?"

"Tanya, I…," Tucker cut himself off, finding it hard to come up with an actual explanation. "It's…it's a long story. I'm not sure we've got time to…"

"MAKE time! Because as far as I'm concerned, I'm safer in HERE until you start giving me some answers!" Tanya argued. "You need to tell me what those things were and how you're mixed up in all this. You need to tell me why one of them LOOKS like you…"

"…You need to make me TRUST you again."

Tucker could only hang his head, partly because he didn't want to answer. But with a heavy sigh of submission, he nodded slightly and motioned for Tanya to step over to the wall, farther away from the others.

"Okay," he began, taking a moment to steady himself. "It all started about a year ago…"

* * *

After a while, a pair of guards was walking through the streets, continuing their search for Tucker. But they soon found something else as a pair of Ghost Rays shot out from a nearby corridor, slamming into the two and putting them down for the count. A moment later, Tucker and Danielle were peering out into the street, searching for any witnesses.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered to Dash and the others as they ran out into the street to drag the incapacitated guards back into the alley.

"Dude, do you seriously think this is going to work?" Dash asked uncomfortably.

"All they have to do is buy it for five seconds," Tucker answered. "Trust me, that's more than we'll need."

* * *

Back at the palace, Danny and Sam were still imprisoned by Hotep-Ra and Ghost Tucker. Struggling with all their might to get free, they were unable to break their shackles. And now, thanks to Ghost Tucker concentrating through the Scarab Scepter to make the shackles even stronger, even Danny's freezing powers were of no help.

"Unh…you know, I'm starting to think we need to do a LOT more research on scepters," Sam remarked after pausing from her latest attempt to free herself, "Because we are having absolutely NOTHING but bad luck with those things."

"So…not looking so high and mighty NOW, are we?" Ghost Tucker couldn't help gloating. "How does it feel when someone ELSE has got all the power for a change."

"Yeah, uh huh," Danny replied dismissively. "You know, the only thing that's going to make this whole thing worth it…is seeing the look on your face when your new buddy in the body cast stabs you in the back."

Ghost Tucker didn't reply to Sam's statement. For a moment, he seemed almost…perplexed.

"Oh what…He never TOLD you that he made Tucker the same offer?" Sam taunted. "I mean, come on. Did you REALLY think YOU were the first one he CAME to?"

"Why would it even occur to him? He thought he was getting a free ride," Danny responded mockingly. "That's all he EVER wants."

"Shut up…," Ghost Tucker muttered angrily.

"Go ahead. Ask your 'mummy' how long THEIR little 'bromance' lasted," Sam continued goading. "Assuming he isn't already planning to throw you away. I mean, it took him about this long to use up the REAL Tucker. With YOU, I figure it's got to be at LEAST…"

"SHUT UP!" Ghost Tucker bellowed, pointing a flashing Scarab Scepter in Sam's direction.

"My Pharaoh!" a deep, yet oddly feminine voice called from behind, yanking Ghost Tucker out of his tantrum. "We have done as you commanded."

As Hotep-Ra emerged from the inside the palace, Danny and Sam looked over in shock to see Tucker, his head low being led up the stairs, along with a handful of schoolmates and three guards. Ghost Tucker and Hotep-Ra couldn't have been more overjoyed at his capture. But Danny and Sam's concern suddenly turned to confusion. Because one thing was for certain, these guards leading Tucker up the steps didn't look like the typical guards that they'd seen running around so far.

"Excellent," Hotep-Ra responded, his attention fixed squarely on Tucker as he wrung his hands with wicked glee. "Does 'my liege' have anything last words before I pronounce sentence?"

"Hey!" Ghost Tucker protested.

"Actually…yeah," an oddly high-pitched voice came out of Tucker's mouth, much to Hotep-Ra's confusion. But his bewilderment turned to alarm as Tucker's head shot up, smirking at him with glowing green eyes.

"Are you REALLY this stupid?"

Before Hotep-Ra could react, Danielle phased out of Tucker's body, slamming her fist square into the mummy's face and sending him flying back into a stone wall. Danielle then turned her attention to a still-stunned Ghost Tucker, firing a Ghost Ray stream that knocked the Scarab Scepter out of his hand.

"Treason!" Hotep-Ra shouted as Danielle unleashed a volley of Ghost Ray bolts which cracked Danny and Sam's shackles, allowing them to break free.

"Alright, all of you…go!" Tucker shouted to the prisoners behind him as the guards that led him to the palace shed their jackal masks to reveal themselves as Dash, Kwan and Tanya. But before he fled with them, Tucker couldn't help turning his attention back to Hotep-Ra.

"Okay, I'm not surprised that HE fell for this," Tucker remarked, pointing at his ghostly twin while keeping his gaze fixed on Hotep-Ra, "But you? YOU should have known better, Dude."

With a bellow, Hotep-Ra lashed out a stretching arm in Tucker's direction, unwilling to let this insult stand. But Danny was already leaping to Tucker's defense, firing a Freezing Ghost Ray, which iced over Hotep Ra's arm, before shattering it with a hard front kick.

"Rrrr! What are you waiting for?!" Hotep-Ra growled at Ghost Tucker as he nursed his arm. "Get that Scepter back, you fool!"

"Hey! Who's the Pharaoh here?!" Ghost Tucker shouted in protest.

"What you'll be is NOTHING if you don't retrieve that Scepter!" Hotep-Ra argued. "Now go FIND it!"

Ghost Tucker's eyes flashed in anger, wanting nothing more than to punish Hotep-Ra for his defiant outburst. But at the same time, he had to admit that Hotep-Ra was right. Without the power of the Scarab Scepter, he was a nothing but a sitting duck. However, before Ghost Tucker could take off to look for it, he found his path blocked by Sam, who had a scowl of wicked intent across her face.

"Hey, Mister 'I-Want-Everything-You've-Got'!" Sam called out, surprising Ghost Tucker as her eyes glowed orange and flames burst from her hands. "What to see what ELSE you can't do?!"

Ghost Tucker found himself gasping in shock as Sam unleashed a wave of ghostly flame towards him. But at the same time, he wasn't so stunned that he was unable to avoid the attack, darting up into the sky as the fire passed harmlessly underneath him. However, the same couldn't be said for Hotep-Ra, who took the attack head-on and instantly burst into flames. Flying off of the building as a giant fireball, it took only seconds for him to burn away to ash and drift away on the breeze.

Meanwhile, Ghost Tucker quickly found that he still wasn't out of danger, either. He may have avoided Sam's attack. But as he took off into the sky, he quickly discovered that he wasn't moving fast enough to avoid Danielle, who flew up past him, only to send him hurtling back down to earth with a hard punch.

As the battle continued to rage, atop the palace, Tucker had caught up with Tanya and the others as they retreated down the steps. But he soon found them stopped dead in their tracks as they were faced with a battalion of Jackal guards charging straight towards them.

"Dash, we can't stay here!" Tucker called. "We've got to move!"

"Are you nuts?!" Dash shouted back in fear. "Look at those things! How are we supposed to stand up to them?!"

"Come on, Dash, don't think like a human facing ghosts! Think like a football player facing an opposing team!" Tucker argued. "Now YOU look at those guys. They're scrawny, 90-pound beanpoles. If you were on the field and saw THEM coming towards you, would YOU stand for that?"

"NO WAY!" Dash declared before turning to Kwan and his fellow teammates. "Alright team! QB's calling a play! Defensive wall formation! Just mow 'em down, got it?! Now HIKE!"

At Dash's command, Kwan and the others surged ahead with a combined yell, slamming into the charging guards and tearing through their line with virtually no effort. For the moment, Tucker was pleased with the results of his little pep talk, but at the same time, he still had the safety of others to look after.

"Tanya, go with them!" he called to her. "They'll get you out of here. Just get someplace safe until this is over."

With a nod, Tanya did as Tucker instructed, running after Dash and the others. But Tucker wasn't about to follow. Turning his gaze upward towards the palace, he had more pressing matters to attend to as he ran back towards the fighting.

Meanwhile, more guards were making their way up another flight of steps to the roof of the palace. But with the high ground, Danny and Sam had the clear advantage. An advantage that Danny was more than willing to press as he tossed a giant Ghost Ray Sphere into the steps, sending guards exploding in all directions. Next, it was Sam's turn. Drawing a pair of Fiery Ghost Ray Blades, she plunged them into the palace roof, sending trails of flame erupting down the steps and causing the guards that Danny hadn't blown away to leap to safety.

But Sam's flames apparently did much more than that. Reaching the bottom of the palace, they continued snaking along the ground…directly in the path of Hotep-Ra, who was just regenerating from being incinerated by Sam's last attack.

"I…AM…RISEN!" Hotep-Ra bellowed. But at that exact moment, Sam's flames roared past, lighting his body up like a roman candle and returning him to ash once again.

Meanwhile, Danielle continued to trade blasts and blows with Ghost Tucker, who was becoming more and more frustrated as the battle went on. Bad enough that Danny and Sam were able to beat him so soundly, just the night before, but now this CHILD was managing to keep pace with him? If something didn't happen to turn the tables, and FAST, he was going to be completely and utterly humiliated.

But just then, at that exact moment, a glittering flash caught the corner of his eye. Looking over, Ghost Tucker caught a glimpse of the Scarab Scepter peeking out of the sand, its central jewel sparkling in the sun. Sensing salvation, he broke off his fight with Danielle and streaked toward the ground, hoping to get the Scepter back into his hand again.

"Oh no, you don't!" Danielle shouted, firing a pair of Ghost Rays straight at Ghost Tucker once she noticed what he was headed for.

But Ghost Tucker was one step ahead, forming his own Ghost Ray energy into a shield for Danielle's blast to slam into, exploding on impact. The force of the detonation sent Ghost Tucker hurtling downward even faster, slamming into ground at top speed.

For a moment, it looked as if Ghost Tucker's stunt had backfired on him, until his hand burst from the sand, holding the Scarab Scepter. A second later, Ghost Tucker exploded from the ground in an eruption of raw power, sending lighting streaming in all directions. One of the bolts knocked Danielle out of sky, only to be caught in Danny's arms as he and Sam flew off the top of the palace to find cover.

Laughing with demented glee, Ghost Tucker no longer seemed to care who his targets were as he floated into the sky, continuing to pound the land with streams of lightning. And without so much as a second to move, Danny, Sam and Danielle could only remain hidden under a stone outcropping, hoping to be safe from the blasts.

"This is nuts!" Danny shouted over the thunderous noise. "As long as he's got that Scepter in his hands, he can't be stopped! We've GOT to find SOME way to get it away from him!"

Just then, Danny and the others heard a series of yelps and cries out over the din. Instantly, they looked out to see Tucker darting from one direction to the next, trying desperately to stay away from the lighting slamming into the ground.

"Tucker!" Sam called out as she lashed out one of her Ghost Ray Strands, wrapping Tucker around the waist and pulling him inside to safety.

"Dude, are you alright?" Danny asked worriedly, while Tucker could only respond with panting and a shuddering nod.

"Tucker, we need your help!" Sam exclaimed. "We've got to get you up there so you can get that Scepter away from him and erase this whole mess! You're the only other person who can use it! No one can do it but you!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Tucker blurted out, having managed to catch his breath. "You think I want to go back to THAT again?!"

"Uh, Tucker…not exactly flush with options here!" Danny pointed out in distress.

"Hel-LO! Has everyone forgotten what happened last time when that thing TOOK ME OVER?!" Tucker argued.

"Yeah, at FIRST! But then, when you used it LATER, it DIDN'T!" Sam noted. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe the only reason it took control of you the first time was because you LET it?"

"What are you talking about?" Tucker asked, curiously.

"Tucker, I'm going to ask you a question. And I want you to give me an honest answer, okay?" Danny responded. "When you were running for Student Council President that time, were you doing it because you actually wanted to do the job? Or were you just doing it to get attention, like Dash was?"

"Well…it's not like I…wouldn't have…DONE…the job…," Tucker answered half-heartedly.

"And that was why you dropped out, wasn't it? Because you knew you were running for the wrong reasons," Danny went on. "Now let me ask you this…when the City Council came to you and offered you the job as Mayor…did you take the job because you actually wanted to do it?"

"Honestly…," Tucker hesitated at first, "…I…really wanted to DO it."

"You wanted to help someone else, didn't you? You didn't want it just for yourself," Danny continued, pointing up towards an insane Ghost Tucker. "Don't you get it? It's not gonna be like last time! Because you're not that guy, anymore! You're not HIM! So don't worry about it, okay?"

"Tucker, look around you," Sam chimed in as she guided her hand towards the people huddled indoors and behind walls, trying desperately to seek shelter from Ghost Tucker's onslaught. "These people need help! We can't give it to them! Only YOU can! They need you to do what you did when you agreed to be Mayor! They need you to step up! So what's it gonna be?"

Clenching his fists, Tucker could only shut his eyes tight, his mind still plagued with doubt. But the sounds of Ghost Tucker's wild laughter, accompanied by the screams of frightened people, suddenly had his eyes pop open with a stern gaze as the words escaped his lips.

"Let's do this."

Back up above, Ghost Tucker appeared to be completely unhinged, continuing to laugh maniacally as the city below suffered his wrath. But his madness was quickly cut short as a pair of Ghost Rays shot past his face. Turning his gaze downward in a rage, he saw Danny flying up towards him at top speed, his hands blazing with ecto-energy.

Ghost Tucker, however, wasn't about to let such an insult go unpunished. And with swing of his arm, he unleashed a wave of energy from the Scarab Scepter, knocking Danny out of the sky and sending him slamming back down to the ground. And before Danny could recover, Ghost Tucker was already hovering over him, a flashing Scarab Scepter pointed right at his head.

"Did you REALLY think that you could beat me with the power that I have now?!" Ghost Tucker boasted joyfully.

"I'm not TRYING to beat you," Danny replied with a smirk. "I'm the distraction."

"Distraction? From what?" Ghost Tucker uttered in confusion.

"Take a wild guess!" Sam's voice called from behind him.

As Ghost Tucker whirled around and looked up, Sam was already on the move, using one of her Ghost Ray Strands to slingshot Tucker towards him. And before Ghost Tucker could react, Tucker had already reached him, grabbing the Scarab Scepter and causing it to emit a brilliant flash of light.

"What…What are you doing?!" Ghost Tucker shouted, barely able to see through the dazzling gleam being radiated by the Scepter.

"What does it LOOK like, genius…?!" Tucker replied angrily.

Suddenly, a wave of force slammed into Ghost Tucker's body, causing him to lose his grip on the Scepter as he flew back. Quickly, he managed to stop himself. But as he looked up and the blinding light faded, he saw Tucker floating in front of him, holding the Scarab Scepter in-hand and dressed in the royal garments of King Duulaman, with glowing red eyes and a firm scowl across his face.

"…I'M TAKING BACK MY TOWN!"

"Aw nuts…" Ghost Tucker groaned, just before Tucker blasted him with a beam of energy from the Scarab Scepter, sending him flying with a loud yelp.

"Oh, I think he's got this," Danny remarked confidently as he turned to Sam and Danielle. "What do you say we help clean house?"

With that, Danny and the others took off to deal with the few remaining guards who remained scattered around the area. But as soon as the guards saw what was coming their way, they were all quick to beat a hasty retreat.

One individual, however, who was more than eager to rejoin the fight, was Hotep-Ra. It took him longer to regenerate than usual, in light of Sam's Ghostly Flame. But as Sam flew past, chasing a pair of guards, he finally managed to swirl his ashes back into form once again.

"I…AM…RISEN!" Hotep-Ra bellowed once more. And indeed he was…until Sam peeked her head back for a moment and snapped her fingers, causing a column of flame to erupt under Hotep-Ra's feet before flying off to continue her chase.

"OH COME NOW, THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH!" Hotep-Ra hollered after Sam before his body was once again reduced to ash.

Meanwhile, Tucker's battle with his ghost half was turning more into a one-sided pounding as Ghost Tucker tried desperately to flee, firing a volley of Ghost Rays to try and slow Tucker down. But Tucker wouldn't be stopped, swatting each of the blasts away with the Scarab Scepter before catching up to Ghost Tucker like he was standing still. Grabbing his evil twin's face, Tucker held him forward as the two flew on, smashing through the wall of a nearby pyramid at blinding speed. For a few seconds, they had both disappeared, save for some thunderous echoes and brief flashes of light coming from the hole in the pyramid. But just then, the top of the pyramid erupted as Ghost Tucker was sent blasting through and up into the sky on a beam of energy. Eventually, he managed to get off the beam in mid-air, but he was in very sorry shape, battered and wobbly, unable to even lift his arms. A second later, though, he immediately realized his troubles weren't over yet as he weakly turned to see Tucker floating behind him, appearing to not have even broken a sweat.

"Had enough?" Tucker asked sternly, gripping the Scarab Scepter even tighter in his hand.

"So what?!" Ghost Tucker protested. "You beat me! Big deal! You could beat ANYBODY as long as you're holding THAT thing! What're you gonna do now…just throw it away? You think it's gonna make you some big hero? What's the point, if you're just gonna go back to being that wimp?!"

"Who are you seriously thinking about giving it up for, huh? Them?!" Ghost Tucker went on, pointing down at Danny, Sam and Danielle, who were continuing to dispatch the remaining guards. "And for what? So you can go back to having them look down on you all the time? Or worse, so you can go back to having them come SAVE you all the time? Why should you have to make THEM look good? With that Scepter, you could have whatever you want…whatever WE want…"

"…So what's it gonna be? Do you want to BE somebody? Or do you want to just go back to being their dumb comic relief?"

Tucker didn't respond at first, looking away briefly before moving his gaze down at the Scarab Scepter in his hand. For a moment, it looked as though Ghost Tucker's words might actually be getting through to him. But a second later, he looked up at Ghost Tucker's wicked grin and a hard frown crossed his face.

"If it means turning back into YOU…I'll take my chances," Tucker declared as he raised the Scarab Scepter, blasting his ghostly doppelganger out of the sky with another stream of energy and sending him hurtling to earth, where another ghostly menace was once again pulling himself back together.

"I…AM…RIS…oof!" Hotep-Ra's proclamation was cut short as Ghost Tucker slammed into him hard, sending both ghosts bouncing and rolling across the desert floor.

Picking himself up as best he could, with Ghost Tucker's dazed body flopped on top of him, Hotep-Ra looked up angrily to see who would have dared disgrace him with such an insult. But what he soon discovered, to his dread, was Tucker pointing a flashing Scarab Scepter right between his eyes, with Danny, Sam and Danielle standing triumphantly behind him.

"Give…me…an excuse," Tucker stated threateningly.

"Uuuhh…my…my liege," Hotep-Ra shuddered, instantly changing his demeanor as he attempted to bow. "Your…humble servant hears and obe…"

"Oh come on, that's not even a NICE try. Besides, I think we BOTH know you don't have anything I want," Tucker interrupted before creating a miniature portal with the Scarab Scepter, reaching inside and pulling out the Fenton Thermos to give to Danny. "I believe this is yours."

"I don't know. Would YOU care to do the honors?" Danny offered.

"Hmm…nah. I think I made my point," Tucker replied with a grin.

No sense wasting any more time. Taking the Thermos in hand, Danny immediately opened it up, sealing up a bellowing Hotep-Ra, along with a prone Ghost Tucker. With the battle brought to an end, the few straggling guards in the area were left with no choice but to flee. At the moment, all the people in hiding swarmed out, applauding Danny and the others for coming to their rescue…especially Tucker. Even Tanya, standing on the sidelines, had to smile, joining in the ovation, herself.

"Way to go, Tucker," Sam praised silently, gently nudging him in the side as the crowd continued to clamor around them. "I think this town just got a whole new appreciation for you."

"Yeah…maybe. But I'd prefer they appreciated me for another reason," Tucker replied with a shrug, looking down at the Scarab Scepter before raising it over his head. "And that's why I say that we all go back to what we were doing before all of this happened! And that no one has any memory of this, or any knowledge of the Scarab Scepter, except for the members of Team Phantom!"

"Oh…and her, too," he added, looking over at a bewildered Tanya before pulling the Scepter in for one last whisper. "And just between the two of us…let's get THIS one right."

With that, the Scarab Scepter let out a blinding flash, enveloping the entire town. And as the light struck the barrier, it instantly dissolved away, much to the surprise of "G", who was sitting against the dome before losing his support and falling flat on his back.

"What the…?!" he blurted out, finding himself suddenly looking up at the sky before he sat up and looked around to see that the town had returned to normal. "Huh…well, I'm not sure what just happened, but I am not complaining."

* * *

Back inside the town, the flash from the Scarab Scepter vanished, just as instantly as it appeared. Danny, Sam and Danielle, were still in their ghost forms and found themselves back at City Hall, outside the Council Chamber with Tanya and Tucker, who was still holding the Scarab Scepter.

"Here," Tucker requested, handing the Scepter to Danny. "You might want to put this someplace safer than a museum. If either one of those two creeps gets their hands on this again, we're probably not gonna like it."

"Wait a minute…are you sure you want to do what you just did?" Danny had to ask.

"Yeah. You know, saving an entire town like that. You've gotta admit, that would be some pretty good PR," Sam agreed, while Tucker merely responded with a shrug.

"I think this town's got enough super heroes," he answered simply. "What it NEEDS is a MAYOR."

Danny and Sam merely responded with a smile. Not only did they admire what Tucker had just decided to do, on a certain level, it actually made them quite…proud.

"Oh nuts! I've gotta get back!" Danielle blurted out as she flew off. "I've got LUNCH to eat!"

With that, Danielle had phased trough the roof and was gone. Danny and Sam meanwhile, simply looked at each other with an amused grin before taking off themselves, leaving Tucker out in the corridor with Tanya, who was still trying to fit her head around everything that was happening.

"Come on," Tucker announced, lightly patting her on the arm. "We've got a meeting to get to."

"Sure…right…," Tanya murmured, instinctively turning around and following Tucker into the Council Chamber.

* * *

The rest of the day occurred pretty much without incident. The field trip came and went. And once school was over, Sam found herself standing outside City Hall once again. But she soon wasn't alone as Danny phased up through the street in his ghost form before changing back to normal.

"Get it done?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. It's all taken care of," Danny answered before pulling out the Fenton Thermos. But now, we should probably get back to my place. We've got two ghosts to dump and I'VE got a few family members who are going to need me to fill in some blanks."

"Mmm," Sam agreed, even though she wasn't in so much of a hurry that she wasn't willing to take a moment to put her arms around Danny's neck and pull herself close. "Our boy did good today, didn't he?"

"Yeah…yeah, he did," Danny answered, folding his arms around Sam's waist, savoring the moment himself as they gently swayed back and forth and pressed their foreheads together. But the moment was soon interrupted as Sam heard Danny take a set of quick sniffs.

"Mmmm…"

"If you're planning on making another barbecue crack, you'd BETTER hope you're wearing shin guards," Sam interrupted before finally looking up at Danny with a warning frown.

Danny simply chose to remain silent at that point, simply smiling and making a quick zipping motion across his mouth. Sam could only respond with a cynical smirk, but at the same time, she couldn't resist leaning in and meeting Danny's lips with a chain of tender kisses. With that, the pair simply put one arm around each other and walked off, with Sam leaning her head on Danny's shoulder.

* * *

Inside City Hall, however, Tucker was sitting at his desk, staring outside the window. Despite all the chaos that had happened earlier in the day, his expression seemed strangely calm. However, his silent contemplation was interrupted as Tanya opened the door, quietly knocking as she walked in.

"You…wanted to see me for a minute?" she asked, trying to sound as composed as she could.

"Yeah, just for a second," Tucker answered as Tanya walked up to the desk. "You doing okay?"

"I…I think so," Tanya replied with a shrug. "I suppose I'm just wondering…you know…"

"…Why I didn't mind-wipe you along with everyone else?" Tucker inquired, while Tanya responded with a simple nod. "Well, I'll get to that in a second. But honestly, there's a reason I called you in here…and it's because I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Tanya asked innocently, even though she had no way of anticipating the answer that Tucker was about to give her.

"Resign."

"What…?" Tanya uttered in disbelief. "I…I don't understand."

"Tanya, you said you wanted to trust me again. And the reason I didn't erase your memory is because I wanted you to know that I trust you, too," Tucker explained. "And…that's why I need you to resign. Because you can't be my Secretary if you're going to do what I need you to do."

Tanya simply remained silent, growing more confused by the second. Tucker, however, needed a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.

"I'm calling for a Municipal Election on Monday," he revealed. "I'm going to be running, Tanya. And I want you to be my Campaign Manager."

"Really?" Tanya asked, clearly caught off-guard.

"And…if I win," Tucker continued, "I want to appoint you as Deputy Mayor."

"…You're serious…" Tanya murmured, while Tucker let out a heavy sigh, taking another moment to collect himself.

"I don't have a political mind, Tanya. I just don't," he confessed. "I DO know that I like this job. I like walking in here and walking out, feeling like I helped to make one person's life just a little bit better. I think I'm good at this. What I'm NOT good at…is what I have to do to KEEP this. I don't know how to act like a Candidate. I don't know how to THINK like a Candidate…"

"But you do. I can tell that much at least," Tucker continued. "All these moves you've been making these last few weeks…rewriting my speeches…feeding me polling data…positioning me for photo ops and putting me next to sponsors…You've been carrying me, Tanya. That's why I did a little checking up on you a few days ago. You were a Political Sciences major in college. You graduated third in your class…"

"I don't really don't know why someone like you took this job and I'm really not going to ask," Tucker added. "But I do know that…there's no way I could have gotten this far without you. And I know you can do a lot more if you're not stuck behind that desk."

"I…I really don't know what to say…," Tanya responded, still surprised.

"Just…tell me you can help me," Tucker asked.

This time, it was Tanya who needed a moment to collect her thoughts. But as she turned back to Tucker, he couldn't help but notice a positive twinkle in her eyes.

"Yes…I can. But first, I think you really need to understand what you're getting yourself into," she answered, her voice becoming more somber as she loomed over the desk, looking Tucker dead in his eyes. "Believe me when I say that absolutely NOTHING you have ever been through can POSSIBLY prepare you for what's about to happen. You are going to be walking into a pit of rabid dogs and they're ALL going to be gunning for YOU. They are going to do absolutely everything they can think of to take all of this away from you and they're not going to care how they do it. They will be going out of their way to tear you down and make you look like some dumb, worthless kid who has absolutely no earthly business being here. And you are going to have a VERY hard time proving them wrong…"

"…There IS some good news, though."

"Oh…you mean that WASN'T the good news?" Tucker remarked sarcastically.

"IF…you win this thing…this job is going to be yours for as long as you want it," Tanya continued with a confident gaze. "NO ONE is going to risk destroying their political career before it starts, by running against a guy who was winning elections before he was even old enough to VOTE."

"Okay, I like that part," Tucker commented with a nod.

"I'll submit my resignation in the morning," Tanya stated, turning and walking out of the office. "In the meantime, you'd better go home and rest up, because we're going to be going over a lot tomorrow."

"Tanya?" Tucker's sudden voice of uncertainty caught her attention as she stopped at the door, turning around to notice a slightly worried expression on his face. "Do you really think I can win?"

Tanya didn't respond at first, taking a moment to eye Tucker with a serious gaze. But all of a sudden, a gentle smile found its way across her lips.

"Do you really think I'D be working for a 15-year-old kid if I didn't BELIEVE in him?" she answered simply. And with that response, Tucker suddenly found himself feeling better.

"Thanks Tanya," he answered gratefully.

"Get some rest," Tanya warned before finally walking out the door. "Trust me…you're going to NEED it."

With that, Tanya was gone, leaving Tucker alone in his office once more. No turning back, now. He'd officially made his decision. But as nervous as he felt at the uncertainty to come, there was a certain level of calmness, too. He couldn't quite explain it. But maybe he didn't have to. Maybe it was just enough that he felt it. It gave him the courage to move forward.

Deciding he needed a moment to stretch his legs, Tucker activated the secret elevator which took him to the bunker beneath City Hall. Others would undoubtedly think it strange, but for Tucker, getting a chance to walk around all the technology stored down there was enough to mellow him out. And he could use a good dose of mellow at that particular moment.

However, after a few moments of walking, he quickly noticed that something was very different in the bunker. In the room where the storage capsules were kept, meant to house weapons and other such things, Tucker noticed that one of the capsules was wrapped in brown paper, with a big bow around it. Walking over curiously, he also took note of a simple folded card taped to the side as well, with an equally simple message written upon it…

… … … …

TUCKER,

BECAUSE YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW.

DxS

… … … …

Tucker recognized the card as being from Danny and Sam, but it even made him more curious as to what it meant. Reaching up, he tore away the simple paper wrapping, not sure what to expect. Of course, the last thing he expected to see as his eyes went wide was the glittering form of the Scarab Scepter, floating inside the capsule's containment field.

Tucker was completely at a loss for words. He'd told Danny and Sam to hide the Scepter someplace safe, but he never imagined they'd leave it here. Granted, there were fewer places more secure than the bunker. But for Tucker, the importance of this was not WHERE Danny and Sam were leaving the Scepter, but WHO they were leaving it with.

As the reality finally sank into Tucker's head, he couldn't help but be touched that they were willing to have so much faith in him with something so incredibly powerful. In a way, they were showing just as much faith in him as the people of Amity Park showed him when he was chosen to be Mayor, all those months ago. At that moment, he knew he had to live up to the enormous responsibility that was being entrusted to him. He had to make sure that if he was ever going to USE this power, it could only be as an option of absolute last resort. He couldn't take it out for every little problem that cropped up.

Of course, having said that, there was no reason he couldn't take it out for a spin once in while.

"Hmmm…," he thought out loud with a mischievous look in his eyes.

* * *

Materializing with an echoing yell, Hotep-Ra looked around to find himself trapped in the swirling vortex of the Ghost Zone. Ghost Tucker was floating close by, But Hotep-Ra was more disconcerted by the endless expanse. He had no idea where he was, but he couldn't help but feel like he'd been placed in some kind of prison. And a hard scowl crossed his face as he thought about the ones who put him IN it.

"You think you can keep me in here!" he raged as Ghost Tucker was just recovering from his daze. "But I WILL find a way to escape! And when I do, my revenge…my most deserved revenge…will be…!"

Just then, Hotep-Ra was taken out of his rant by an enormous shadow which suddenly appeared behind him. Turning around, he and Ghost Tucker were stunned at the sight of the giant Tucker-faced Sphinx, towering overhead. Ghost Tucker was frightened enough at the Sphinx's titanic size, while Hotep-Ra was terrified for a much more familiar reason. But they were both cry out in fright as the Sphinx growled down before lunging towards them, swallowing them both whole with a single bite. And as it licked its chops, the Sphinx became instantly content as it panted happily.

"Oh…I am NOT looking forward to the passage that leads us out of THIS," Hotep-Ra's voice echoed from within.

The End


End file.
